Bike Packing for ITERA 2016

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So you’re counting down to ITERA in August and you have all your ducks in a row. Training is going well and you might even be thinking of your packing and gear lists.

The one thing you might miss out on, especially the domestic teams, is the need for a bike box. Because we are not flying anywhere and as previous domestic races provided universal bike transport boxes we may not have thought of it.

Reading the Race Logistics page on Kit offers so advice, here is the relevant bit from the race website (our bolding):

Race Details – Logistics

Kit bags – we will be transporting all of your kit between transitions. You should have one kit BAG per team member and an additional one BAG per team (so 5 bags) – these should weigh no more than 28kg each on our pre-loading scales and be comfortably carried by one person. We would recommend duffle bags.

Please no filled bladders or water bottles in any kit bags. Only sealed drinks containers. There will be drinking water available at all transitions

Paddles / Buoyancy Aids will be transported separately. Any other items including tents must be packed in bags or bike boxes.

Bike Boxes – We follow the approach taken by other AR world Series events in using a standard size bike box. In 2016 you will be required to supply your bike for transportation in a bike box which is 140cm x 80cm x 30cm (please don’t ask for another 10cm either way etc). In these boxes you can put any other items you wish like cycle clothing / helmets / shoes.. etc but they must not weigh anymore than 28kg.

To make this work, we can supply cardboard bike boxes which meet the above spec and we will sell on at £16 (or euro equivalent) each. To purchase these please visit our shop here you need to login. Unfortunately due to the size of these boxes the postage makes sending them out prohibitive – hence they will be available for collection either from our office (with prior appointment) or at Open5 events. You will need a roll of gaffer / parcel tape to seal the boxes or find another way of keeping them shut.

During the event we will make every effort to keep these boxes dry (e.g. putting them under our large gazebos) but there is a chance they may get wet. Cardboard versions may suffer – hence we have seen in many international events teams covering cardboard boxes with fabriseal or similar. The other alternative is to make your own correx version of this box.

The bit at the bottom got us thinking and Old Man MacGyver came to the fore with a design and costing for reusable bike boxes that fit the size requirement and are reusable for other events and that will flat pack for storage.

What more could you ask for? 🙂

So a bit of design work and some costing and voila we have a plan –

We have these costed to make running at €55 (complete) with straps and buckles from 4mm Corriboard which will be reinforced at the ends and base to double thickness. To achieve this cost we need to be making x12 boxes which is 3 teams. Anything less than 3 and it becomes economically non-viable.

You can have your choice of colour for team boxes: black / blue / orange

If your team captain is happy to coordinate the team simply order through the Paypal link when we hit the minimum needed. Plan is to confirm orders by 20th June, close the Paypal link and have the boxes ready for the 1st week of July.

Boxes & Colour

FYI – team names will not be printed on the boxes. Ideally you will have your own branding or logos on stickers to apply to the boxes on delivery.